Ashburton council says no basis for suspension

The Shire of Ashburton council is maintaining there is no reasonable basis for its six-month suspension.

The Department of Local Government conducted a probity audit into the Pilbara council, at the request of the council, earlier this year.

The audit found evidence the shire had not properly performed some of its functions and it questioned the council's ability to govern effectively.

As a result, the council sacked its chief executive last month and the Local Government Minister John Castrilli issued the suspension.

The shire was asked to respond to the allegations of non-compliance and a copy of that response has been obtained by the ABC.

The allegations were in relation to staff performance reviews, council meeting procedures and tender processes.

There were also adverse findings regarding the lease and operation of an Onslow caravan park and lease arrangements of five Onslow properties. Planning processes for Onslow's airport expansion were also questioned.

The council says it was shocked to discover the extent of the alleged non-compliance identified in the report but maintains there was no lawful, or reasonable, basis for its suspension.

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder mayor, Ron Yuryevich, has been appointed Commissioner of the Shire of Ashburton while the council is stood aside.

Councillors have been ordered to undertake governance training.

Mr Yuryevich says he will act as commissioner for the next six months.

"My challenge ahead is at the end of the six month term I leave here with the suspended councillors ready to walk in after training and pick it up and go forward as a better council," he said.

Ashburton's acting CEO, Frank Ludovico, says it is business as usual.

"The Commissioner has all of the powers and responsibilities of the council and instead of nine people there's only one person," he said.

"There will still be council meetings, there will still be all the business of local government continuing."

Inquiry call

The State Opposition has renewed its call for an inquiry into local government which is the latest in a string of problems, including Canning council's suspension, and recent issues at Kalamunda and Albany.

The Opposition's John Hyde says the Government must address the core problem of relationships between chief executive officers and elected members.

He has called on Mr Castrilli to launch an inquiry.

"We've had five CEOs at Albany in four years, there've been problems at Canning, Ashburton, Kalamunda and other councils, and Mr Castrilli has refused to act," he said.

"Until you address the core problem about the relationship between elected members and employees under the CEO, you're going to keep having these problems occurring."

Mr Castrilli says there is no need for an inquiry because there is not an endemic problem across WA local authorities.

"These things happen from time to time, unfortunately, and when they happen, we look at each case individually and see what sort of area of assistance they require," he said.

"This Government has invested a lot of money into lifting the performance of local government.

"It's only a handful of local governments who get into this situation and we're trying to fix it when and how we can."

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder city says Mr Yuryevich's appointment as commissioner will not affect his duties as Mayor.